FLEX Global Program

The FLEX Global program provides scholarships for high school students to spend an academic year in the United States, living with a host family and attending an American high school.

Applications for the 2027–2028 FLEX Global Program are now closed.

For information about the 2028–2029 FLEX Global Program, please visit our website in August 2027.

FLEX Global Program

What is the FLEX Global Program?

FLEX Global is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by American Councils for International Education.

FLEX Global is a program that allows high school aged students from select countries to spend an academic year in the United States living with a host family and attending U.S. high school.

FLEX Global builds on the legacies of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), which has operated for over 30 years, and the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, which has operated for almost 25 years. FLEX Global aims to develop a network of young leaders who understand and support U.S. culture and priorities, with a focus on entrepreneurship, technology and AI, and leadership.

FLEX Global is a highly competitive, merit-based exchange program funded and administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

The program will provide participants the opportunity to spend an academic year in the United States living with a host family, attending a U.S. high school, engaging in community activities, developing leadership skills, and taking part in American Excellence enhancement activities focused on business, technology, and entrepreneurship.

These young leaders will return to their countries with new skills and knowledge, where they will apply what they learned to benefit their home communities and become lasting partners for the United States.

The FLEX Global program is supported at the local level by thousands of U.S. citizens and local secondary schools that host, educate, and support students with no financial compensation.

What does the FLEX Global program provide?

The FLEX Global program provides:

• Round-trip domestic and international travel (from home to the United States and back);

• Monthly allowance to help students participate in social activities and buy necessary personal supplies;

• Placement with a screened U.S. host family for one academic year;

• Enrollment in a U.S. secondary school;

• Program orientation activities including pre-program preparation and re-entry preparation;

• Program activities arranged in local U.S. communities; and

• Medical insurance, excluding pre-existing conditions and dental care.

What is not provided by the FLEX Global program?

The FLEX Global program does not provide:

• Any costs associated with receiving an international passport;

• Personal expenses not covered by the monthly stipend;

• Excess baggage costs; and

• Internet or data plans.

Who is eligible to apply to the program?

FLEX Global is a merit-based, open competition offered at no cost to applicants who meet the following requirements.

Students may only apply once to the program during a given recruitment cycle.

Eligible applicants must:

1. Meet the grade/age requirements (see table);

2. Be enrolled in and attending a secondary school in the country in which they apply to the program, at the time of application;

3. Be in good academic standing;

4. Have previously studied English and demonstrate English language ability at the time of application;

5. Meet U.S. visa eligibility requirements; and

6. Be a citizen of Armenia.

Who is not eligible to apply to the program?

The following students are not eligible to apply:

• Students who do not meet eligibility criteria 1-6;

• Students whose immediate or other family members have:

  • Applied or are applying to emigrate to the United States; or

  • Made plans to emigrate or have already emigrated to the United States.

How does the testing and selection process work?

Students compete through English testing, proctored essays, interviews with FLEX Global staff, and a complete application.

Selection—based in the U.S.—rewards merit and readiness for a year-long exchange, with English proficiency as one factor among several rather than the deciding one.

Finalists must pass a medical fitness evaluation and will learn their status in spring.

Selected students attend a pre-departure orientation at home in June or July, arrive in the United States in August, and return the following May–June on their assigned program end date.

Visas cannot be extended or amended beyond that date for any reason.

How will I benefit from the exchange experience?

FLEX Global is a unique opportunity to live with a host family and attend a U.S. high school for a year.

Participants gain firsthand insight into and appreciation of U.S. daily life and culture, share about their own countries with their host communities, and build lasting relationships with their host families as well as between the U.S. and participating countries.

What should I consider before applying to FLEX Global?

Students should consider:

• Will I have to repeat a year of school?

• Will I be home too late to take final school or university entrance examinations?

• Will my university or institute defer my admission?

• Will I be required to serve in the military upon return?

• Will I be eligible to graduate with honors/receive a gold medal at my home school?

Additional Information

• NOTE: Students who change their grade level to an ineligible grade before their departure to the U.S. will be disqualified.